We love our garden bugs around here. Most of them, anyway. This season we have been very fortunate to have a plethora of little friends to observe, and care for.
The honey bee is Queen, of course. We give her space, and she provides us with a garden to be proud of. We are ever grateful for her hard work.
With all do respect to the bees, its the babies in the garden that have gotten the most love these days. Baby Ladybug Larva!
These larva have been watched over since the day we first discovered them. Sometimes moved from one plant to another to provide our yard with maximum protection from aphids (of which we have many). Both Ava and Cyrus love to carry them. Maybe love it too much. We had to put a stop to the larva rides... too many "opps!" were heard.
Soon the larva were replaced with pupa. Not as much fun for my children, they don't transport very easily.
The pupa is on the left in red, and the larva is on the right wearing stripes.
After a few weeks our babies are starting to grow up. A lovely selection of ladybugs now live in our gardens.
The gray one is my favorite. Ava prefers the black with red spots, and Cyrus loves them all. That's his way.
I would be remiss if I failed to update you on my little friend the grasshopper. Do you remember I mentioned him a few weeks ago? My how he's grown. He's doubled in length, and changed his colors with a few moltings. He also decided to move across the path from the lemon tree to the artichoke plant. I think he feels more protected there by all the bees, or just the sheer size of the artichoke, its a beast. I am truly fond of this little guy. He's like an old friend, or a bug that... I see a lot.
The newest thrill in our gardens are these hard to find, biiig eaters.... Caterpillars. We'll be keeping an eye on these babies. Hoping for more, but not too much more. I'll let you know how that works out for us!
So there you have it. Sixteen pictures of bugs. I swear I do still take pictures of my children...
Here's to getting out in the garden and enjoying the little guys who make it all possible.
A special thanks to The Magic Onions for bringing us all together to enjoy nature every Friday.
A special thanks to The Magic Onions for bringing us all together to enjoy nature every Friday.
2 comments:
What you lack in earthworms, you certainly make up for in ladybirds. I don't often find the lavae, but we do have lots of ladybirds.
(just off to look under a few more leaves for lavae.....)
I will have to sit and show my little sweetpea this blog tomorrow, she absolutely loves ladybirds at the moment!
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